cheeseburgermonster said "I get what you are saying and I'm not saying the meatless alternatives are better than fresh produce or even frozen, but I'm trying to figure out a way to slowly go meatless or at least cut it down drasticlly due to I can't drive allover town to find the best sale prices on meat or buy a side of cow. It's easier for you to eat natural as you are blessed to be on your own farm and have animals and a garden etc. I'm on a tight budget so don't have the $ to buy alot of raw ingredients to make alot of dishes all at once, and so have to slowly do this somehow. Yes some of the veg burgers do have alot of ingredients and Im not crazy of the one made in a lab, but I can't just dive into salads daily. This is gonna be a hard transition and people can debate this til the cows come home lol I am trying to do this change and asking questions because I dont want to just surf the net for recipes or product reviews, I want to hear from actual people who have eaten these meatless alterternatives and which they liked or didn't like and any suggestions they have to going more meatless. I'm not downplaying meat at all, but I have some health issue that it would be best for me to reduce my meat consumption and careful of protein amount and try to heal my body if possible. My gran did things your way moreless (buy a side of a cow pig chickens and kept it in a large freezer and canned her garden stuff, home made bread that took hours etc) and it was the best way to grow up, but that isn't a reality for me at the moment. "
First off if your looking to eat less meat and get more veggies you have loads of options. Cooking your food from scratch is optimal as it will obviously be the most nutritious and tasty! Ill post some recipes below for some of our most popular meals at home. Before that though just be willing to think beyond the standard vegetable. Meals that don't i:nclude meat can and should i:nclude standard vegetables along with potatoes, lentils, tofu, legumes, starches, grains and fruits. You must eat a balanced diet that i:ncludes all these foods, which is the staple of the whole food plant based lifestyle.
If your looking for easy recipes I highly recommend you go check out Forks Over Knives Magazine, found at any store that sells magazines. They also have an app that is packed with easy, healthy and tasty recipes. You can also find many great recipes tips and resources on their website:
https://www.forksoverknives.com/
In terms of costs, you will find that certain foods are much cheaper than meat while others can get costly. For example a couple pounds of lentils is much cheaper than any meat and will last much longer too.
Lentils are a fantastic meat substitute, we often use lentils as our taco filling, Sheppard pie filling, in soups, stews, chili, and many other dishes.
Some Points to Note with Lentils:
Brown / Green Lentils : Best for tacos, sheppard pie and burgers
Red Lentils: Best for soups, stews and chili
If your looking to buy pre-made burgers I highly recommend you check out the Very Good Butcher Company. They are located in Vancouver and deliver nationwide. The only downside to them is they are a bit costly and due to overwhelming demand they are having shipping delays.
https://www.verygoodbutchers.com/
Although, I personally would recommend you make your own meals. Start out with easy recipes requiring minimal ingredients and steps and have fun with it. You will not regret making tasty food at home. And yes it can be done on a budget.
Starting out making meatless dishes you will need certain items on hand. I would recommend you have the following ingredients always on hand:
Nutritional Yeast (found at all the stores, including Bulk Barn) This is how we make cheesy tasting sauces, and elevate mashed potatoes, and many other wonderful things you can do with this product.
Ground Flax seed : Used as a egg replacer, additive, thickener etc.
Cashews (Can be pricey so use accordingly) Used for making cheese sauces and other creamy sauces.
There are many other items you should have but can get specific to each recipe you make.
Ok Since you love burgers as we do in our house here is one of my favourite and easy to make recipes:
Black bean Quinoa Burgers
https://nutritionstudies.org/recipes/main-dish/easy-black-bean-quinoa-burgers/
For Lentil Tacos we do the following:
Either use canned brown lentils or cook the lentils by placing 1 cup of brown lentils in a pot and cover with 1.5 inchs of water. Bring to a boil, simmer for about 15 minutes or until lentils are tender.
In a frying pan sautee a chopped onion and garlic. Pour the cooked lentils into the pan with the onions and slightly mash the lentils with the back of your wooden spoon or use a masher. Season with taco seasoning, add 1/4 cup or so of water. (Note: You can buy a pouch of taco seasoning for cheap or make your own by mixing chili powder, cumin, corriander, paprika, garlic and onion powder. Heres a easy recipe you can follow or tweak to your liking:
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/homemade-taco-seasoning-recipe-taco-seasoning-mix/
Season with salt pepper and squeeze some fresh lime.
Serve the lentil taco filling mixture on taco shells hard or soft with your faviourite toppings.
Finally a easy to make meal that is versatile and limited to only your imagination:
Power Bowls
We serve a bowl filled with cooked brown rice, chopped lettuce, chopped peppers, red onions, fresh tomatoes, avacados, corn, chickpeas drizzled with a cilantro lemon sauce. These types of bowls are loaded with flavour, nutritious and easy to make.
If your interested in more recipe ideas let me know what type of meal your interested in. I have loads of personal recipes and recipes we use from online i can share.
One final point on costs, you can reduce your meal costs substantially by planning your meals ahead of time, ideally plan out the whole week. Eat leftovers a couple times a week and making meals that use up the ingredients you have in your fridge / pantry.
Best of luck with your food journey and have fun with cooking some great meals!